Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 13, 2025

19 certified in five areas by Disability Service Department

19 certified in five areas by Disability Service Department

The Disability Services Division in the Social Development Department handed out certificates to 19 participants in five subject areas today as World Disability Day is observed in the territory.
The participants were certified in meal preparation, horticulture, water skills, ‘myself and others’, and everyday living. The Autism Programme Director and Supervisor for Disability Services in the Social Development Department Lorna Dawson said the participants in the certification programme have more modules to complete as each module have another step to it.

“For example, we have those who did horticulture. Some of the next steps is learning how to count money, manage money and basic numeracy skills so that they can sell their produce. So, right now we are assisting them with things like that,” Dawson said.

Dawson added the certification programme has various modules which have a three-year lifespan and once they are purchased, the department must try and finish them within the time span for moderation. She noted the participants can be certified locally but the Disability Services Department decided to send samples to the United Kingdom and have them certified.

“We send samples to the UK and they looked through them and they were satisfied with the level of completions and then they send that official certificate saying ‘okay, we moderated and we are satisfied that you know what you are doing. You’ve marked it correctly’,” she explained.

The Disability Services Supervisor added that her department has been working with the participants in job placement but the coronavirus pandemic has halted the progress they have made over the last few years.

“We are using this time now to work on the feedback we got from the employers in terms of areas of weakness. We are working on those areas to build them so when things settle down again, we can try to get some of them out in the job market again,” Dawson said.

Meanwhile, Special Needs Education Officer, Afiya Smith said the certification of the participants can empower them to rise to the occasion and show the community the skills that the individuals learned during the programme.

“It shows that they can hold employment and independently live once we give them the opportunity. So, the certification is intended to propel them to another level; motivate them and their families. Show them that the disability does not limit who they are but it gives them an opportunity to do something. It says ‘I can cook, I can sew something, I can organise, I can put things in sequential order’,” Smith said.

The Special Needs Education Officer who led the participants in a dance to close the ceremony said it was a very heart-warming moment for her to see them dancing while members of the Virgin Islands community watched and supported them.

“This is heart-warming, so seeing the participants engage in dancing today shows that they have a means of sharing light. Some are maybe able to communicate well and some may not but dancing is a form of art that everybody can read through without words. We can see the expression in movement so we are aware that there is something inside of them that is strong. Telling them that they can make it,” Smith said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
×